New Blog Site!

I've started a new blog site for Thomas. There's a lot new features, including a forum. The photo gallery looks very nice too (still under construction).

Please check out the new blog! This will be my last post on this blog. Thanks for reading, and enjoy!

Thanks for taking the survey!

Thanks to those who took the survey on where Tony and I should take Thomas for our vacation trip next summer.

The results:

Disney cruise 71%
Hawaii 14%
Caribbean 00%
Canada 14%
Las Vegas 00%
Cancun 00%

Thomas Copying Others

Yesterday at Downtown Disney, Thomas was walking around one of the water fountains. There was another girl about 6 or 7 years old who was playing with the water. She was putting her 2 hands in the water while leaning over the huge fountain. Thomas saw this, and he leaned forward and wanted to put his hands into the water too! He was copying the little girl! It was so funny.

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At Woodbridge Lake, Irvine

We went to the Woodbridge Lake today. Thomas enjoyed walking around and looking at the ducks in the lake. Afterwards, we went to the Disney walk. Thomas had a really good walk today.

Thomas and his new cars

Thomas got some new cars from his cousins Harry, Harris, and Amy. Two of them are huge - both combined are about as big and heavy as him! He's been entertaining himself with them! He loves watching the cars' wheels turning.

Bridal Shower Invitations

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Thomas and his Favorite Blankie

Here's Thomas with his favorite blanket. He was biting on it while sleeping, and looked so funny! He hates it everytime I take his blanket to wash. On Saturday morning, he pooped, and he made his blanket dirty somehow. I noticed it when he wanted to go to sleep with it. I took it away from him, and tossed him another blanket of his, but he was crying so much. He wanted his favorite blanket. Everyime I get the clothes from the dryer to fold, he has a big smile on his face when he sees his blanket in the pile of clothes, and he grabs for it! He has tons of other blankets, but wants only this one!

Thomas mad at me...

On Saturday, we had attended one of my cousin's wedding. We took Thomas along, but once we stepped into the restaurant, he was crying so much. He also refused being held by me. He only wanted Tony. I guess it was because I had on make-up, and he didn't recognized me.

Since Tony's sister lived near the restaurant where we were attending the wedding, we decided to drop Thomas off there. Both Tony's sisters were there, along with his mom, and his sisters' kids. We called to check up on him when we were back at the restaurant and they said he was fine...he was having fun playing with his 2 cousins, Amy and Thao. Right when they started passing out the cake, we left to pick Thomas up, which was around 10:30 pm. They were all awake, and Thomas was still playing.

We took Thomas home, and on the car, he was really quiet. I talked to him, but he refused to even look at me, and when I held his hands, he pushed it away. He didn't mumble anything on the whole way back. Tony and I think he was mad at us for being away from him. Could he really know the meaning of being mad at his age?

When we arrived home, he finally went to sleep, still refusing to play with me. It wasn't until morning that he started "talking" and playing with me again.

Words Thomas can say...

Thomas can say up to 5 words now: mama, dada, ba (Vietnamese word for dad), mum-mum (when he's hungry), and no. He also does a lot of mumble jumble sayings that Tony and I don't understand. Lately, when one of the toys he's playing rolls under the bed, he'd take my hand and pull me to the floor so that I can grab the toy for him. Or, if he sees me with food, he'd pull on my legs and get me to sit down so that I'd feed him. It's so cute!

Thomas can sip on a straw

Thomas has been able to sip on a straw for almost 4 weeks now. He loves drinking from a straw! Every time he sees me drinking with a straw, he'd want to grab my drink. Sometimes, he'd suck on the water too fast, and he'd drip the excess out of his mouth! His favorite drink is from Jamba Juice!

Las Vegas/Grand Canyon Trip

We went on the Las Vegas/Grand Canyon bus trip during the weekend with Tony's family. We left on Saturday morning, heading towards London Bridge and Lake Havasu as our first stop. It was very cool on the bus, but once we got off the bus at the lake, it was so humid and hot. It was so nice to get back on the bus after eating our lunch at In-N-Out.

The bus driver was very experienced in manuvering through traffic, and our bus tour guide was good at telling jokes. It helped passed the time by quickly. Our next stop was Laughlin. We stopped by Edgewater hotel and casino. I had stayed here with my family before. After Laughlin and another rest stop, we finally arrived in Las Vegas in the evening. We were so hungry, and went to eat at a buffet at the Frontier, which was right next to the hotel where we were staying. By then, Thomas was so sleepy and cranky, so we head back to the hotel to bathe him and let him sleep.

The next day, we took off at 6 am towards Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. When we got back on the bus, our tour guide forgot to check whether everyone made it back on the bus. We were missing 2 people and a small kid. We had left Hoover Dam for almost 10 minutes when someone in the back said there's some people missing. We had to turn back to Hoover Dam and picked them up. That had been the highlight of the morning! Then we were finally on our way to the Grand Canyon National Park. It started getting a little chilly as our bus headed up towards the park, and it showered a little too. However, once we reached the Grand Canyon, and stepped outside the bus, it was so humid! There were a lot of flies too. I went to the edge, and looked down. It looked gorgeous! Thomas and I only stayed out a little, then we went in the building for some cool air. The rest of the family stayed outside, and climbed down the rocks to take lots of pictures.

That evening, on our way home, someone had requested for the bus to drive down Las Vegas Blvd, so that they could see the strip. We got stuck in traffic for an hour, and we were so hungry. The tour guide should have asked for everyone's vote instead of just taking everyone down the strip, and getting us stuck in traffic. Most of us had to use the restroom too, because it had been over 4 hours since our last stop. This time for dinner, we went to the buffet at Main Street hotel, since the bell guy at our hotel had recommended it. Tony, Viet, Viet's mom, and I ate together, and all of us thought the food was terrible! I was hoping to get some good food in Las Vegas, but I didn't.

The next morning, we finally headed home. We stopped at the outlet mall at the state line on our way home. I was only able to stop at 2 stores with Thomas. I bought him a Thomas train that he liked. He refused to part with it when we were at the cashier, and was crying so loud!

I was so glad Thomas was good on the bus. He loved looking out the window and staring at the cars driving by. I think we all had a good time, but Tony and I said we'll probably not go on another tour trip until Thomas was at least 4 or 5 years old. It was tiring for us, especially with Thomas, because we have to be on someone else's time, and not our own. We took lots of pictures, and hope everyone will enjoy them!

Thomas Haircut and New Bike

We went to Tony's oldest sister Annie's house on Sunday, and she gave Tony and Thomas a haircut. Amy, Thomas' cousin, gave him her battery-operated bike. Thomas loves it! Thanks Amy!

Balboa Beach

We went to Balboa Beach on Saturday afternoon. Here are some pictures!

Jury Duty Service Has Been Excused!

I had asked to be excused from jury duty because there's no one to take care of Thomas, and I found out today that my excuse has been granted! It's a good thing, because I don't think anyone can handle Thomas yet! He sometimes stick to me like glue! Nowadays, I just let him roam around the bedroom, and when he gets tired, he'd come and sit on my lap and lay his head back...we'd sit right in front of the fan and just relax!

Thomas has learned to open up the sliding drawers now, and I have to always watch out for him. I have also bought the safety outlet plugs, but he knows how to pull them out! This guy can get into anything he wants to! I have to always be on a lookout!

I took him to Barnes & Noble today. We went to the children's section, where there's a train set table for the kids to play. He stood there playing with the Thomas and Friends train set for about 1/2 hour. He loved it!

I just noticed that this posting is my 100th posting for Thomas' blog...Happy 100th posting! :)

Jury Duty!

I've just received a jury duty notice today! It's one of those call-in notices. I hope someone will be able to take care of Thomas if I have to show up!

Thomas Climbs Down By Himself

This morning, Thomas was climbing up the futon again. He does this all the time now. When he wants to climb down, though, I usually help him. Tony and I have been showing him to turn around and climb down with his feet first. Today, when he was turning around to climb down, I decided to see if he could do it on his own. I was there, ready to catch and help him if he needed any help, but he didn't. He slid his 2 feet down first. He was able to climb down the futon all by himself! I'm so proud of him!

Thomas Played with the Toilet Water!

Last night, Thomas was sitting in the bedroom playing with his toys. I went into the bathroom to run his bath, and the next thing I knew, I heard water splashing behind me. I turned around and found out that Thomas had followed me into the bathroom and was playing with the toilet water! Yucky!

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Thomas with his new shoes!

Thomas has been walking around so much lately. He has tons of sandals given by my sister, but they were all small for him, so Tony and I bought him a new one on Sunday. He keeps on wanting to take them off, but I won't let him. I'm trying to get him used to walking with shoes so that I can take him outside for walks. I can't wait!

I've also videoed him walking around, but I haven't been able to post on his video website yet, because Tony had boxed up the video cables. I have several videos in which I'm behind in posting up.

Thomas has another teeth!

Thomas has another teeth now; this is his 5th one. With so many teeth, his biting hurts now! I hope he'll stop his biting stage soon!

Thomas walks so much now!

Thomas is walking around the house so much now! He loves it too! He rarely wants me to hold him anymore...sometimes, when I just want to hug him, he pushes me away because he doesn't want to be held. He also tries to open up the cabinets in the kitchen and the bathroom. I had to put the safety latch on the cabinets yesterday. He tried opening them today, but couldn't. He came back and tried several times and finally gave up! All this walking around is not tiring him at all, but it's tiring for me!

Thomas took off his own diaper!

Thomas had taken off his own diaper last night while sleeping. Around 1 a.m., he woke up crying, and I got up and found one side of his diaper off. All the blankets in his crib was wet! I flipped over his mattress, changed the crib sheets, hand-washed his pillow, and washed him. I couldn't believe that he could take off his own diaper! I hope this isn't something he'll be doing often!

Thomas can shake his head "No"

Thomas is able to shake his head "no". He's been able to do it ever since last Saturday night. It's funny the way he does it...he holds his head up and shakes into the sky. He looks so cute when he does it!

Thomas walks and climbs up onto the futon!

Thomas was able to climb up onto the futon by himself yesterday! At first, he was taking several steps on the floor...he usually walks only on the bed, and not the floor because he's afraid of falling. Suddenly he walked over to the futon where I was sitting, and he climbed up all by himself. Tony and I were surprised! He's happy he can climb up, and he keeps on doing it.

Right now, he's taking several steps around the living room and climbing on the futon again!

Thomas has 4 teeth!

Thomas grew his 4th teeth, and he's been biting me a lot! Today, my parents came over to visit with my niece Sarah and nephew Kevin, and Thomas bit my mother! All of us went swimming in the pool, and when I was feeding him afterwards, he bit me!

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Our Cancun Trip: June 24-29, 2007

We had a wonderful time in Cancun. We flew out from John Wayne Airport on Sunday noon, and arrived in Cancun at around 9pm. Thomas was good on the plane. We had a stop-over in Houston. Thomas was better on the first flight than on the second. I guess he was getting tired at that time. By the time we arrived to our hotel, Dreams Cancun Resort & Spa, and checked in and everything, it was close to midnight. The package we bought was all-inclusive, so the first thing we took advantage of was the room service. We had a very late dinner of tortilla soup, steak, and cheesecake. It was so good! Their cheesecake was so creamy and not too sweet like some cheesecake I've eaten before. It was just perfect.

I had a crib bought up, and Thomas was so tired that he fell asleep right away!

The next morning, we went out to the hotel's international buffet, World Cafe. Afterwards, we went walking around the hotel. The weather was so hot and humid that we decided to jump in the pool later on. There's always someone waiting around, asking whether anyone needed a drink...it was paradise. Tony liked the swim up bar.

For lunch, we decided to order room service again, but that night, we tried out their seafood restaurant, Oceana. It was so delicious! We loved their lobster bisque!

We also loved the Seaside Grill, which specializes in grilled items. Another place we tried out was Himitsu, a Pan-Asian restaurant. We thought the location was great for a romantic evening because of its great view, but the food was just ok there. There was also another restaurant, Paloma Bonita, specializing in authentic Mexican food, but we didn't eat there.

We had an ocean view room, and the view was spectacular! We could see almost everything from our room, from the pool, lagoon where dolphins were swimming, to the pier, and the ocean. There was many activities for us to join, but with Thomas, we were a little restricted. Tony joined in the water exercise, kayaking, and bicycling activities. Thomas and I swam most of the time. There's an Explorer Club for kids, but they had to be at least 3 years, so Thomas was too young. They took the kids for the day and entertained them with fun-filled activities. Tony and I plan on going to Cancun again when Thomas is at least 3 years old to use this service!

We really had a great time in Cancun. We even saw 2 well-known Vietnamese celebrity there, Van Son and Viet Thao, and their families. They were staying on the same floor as us! We were able to take pictures with one of them.

I think Tony and I will be coming back to Cancun, and we'd definitely stay at Dreams again...it's a place where dreams come true!

There's so much pictures that we took! Click here to see all of them!

New Photo Gallery Page

Tony and I set up a new photo gallery page for Thomas. To see it, please click here!

Thomas Gets His 1 Year Immunization Shots

Thomas went to the doctor today for his 1 year immunization shots. His weight is 22 pounds, 12 ounces, and he is 29-3/4" tall. The doctor said he's a little over the 50th percentile, which is good. He used to be in the 90th percentile. She also said all his motors skills are fine, except he should be saying at least 3 words by now. Right now, he can only say 1 word...have to try to get him to say more!

She also said that Thomas should be eating most things, except nuts, whole grapes, popcorn, chunks of meat, peanut butter, whole hot dogs, hard or sticky candy, bagels, or raw vegetables. Also, not too much sweets. She also said to go gradually on the seafood, since he has eczema, because most people with eczema are allergic to seafood. Thomas can start drinking whole milk too, and should be switching over to drinking his milk in a sippy cup. His intake on milk should be only about 2 cups because milk should not be his main food anymore.

I also told the doctor that he's still not sleeping through the night, and she said that I have to let him cry out and not feed him, or else he will continue to wake up in the middle of the night and expect his milk each time. He's been back to waking up about 3-4 times each night...I don't know if he can handle suddenly not having milk the whole night. I guess I have to cut back maybe one feeding every 2-3 days instead of doing it all at once.

Afterwards, Thomas received 5 immunization shots. When the nurse gave him the first shot, he started crying and jerking his arms and legs around while kicking and pushing the nurse's hands away. After all the shots, he refused to go near, or even look at, the nurse...it was as if he knew. When all his immunization shots were given, I had to take Thomas to have his blood drawn to make sure all his red and white cells count were ok. He was crying so much again. Luckily he stopped once I got him out of the building. My poor baby was so good on the way home. I'm so glad he didn't get any fever from all the shots today! It's been a long morning for him.

Father's Day and Thomas' Birthday, Sunday, June 17, 2007

Sunday was both Father's Day and Thomas' Birthday. For Father's Day, I made Tony one of his favorite dish - spaghetti. I also made some salad, garlic bread, and chilled red wine. We had a wonderful Father's Day meal. Thomas even loved the spaghetti! Happy Birthday, Thomas, and happy Father's Day, Tony!

Thomas' Birthday Party, Saturday, June 16, 2007

We celebrated Thomas' birthday a day early. We had a big birthday party for him. He had a really great time and loved his new toys and clothes. Thank you to those who attended, and thanks for the presents! Here are some pictures of him with his cake!

Thomas Understands Chinese!

I told Thomas to clap his hands, speaking in Chinese, and he started clapping his hands! I was so surprised! He looks so cute when he's clapping his hands. I showed my parents, and they were excited that he understood a little of Chinese. He started clapping his feet too.

Tomorrow is Thomas' big day...his birthday is actually on Sunday, but we're having his birthday party tomorrow. Here's a card his cousins made for him! Thanks, guys!

Thomas finally claps his own hands!

Usually when I clap my hands to get Thomas to clap his, he doesn't. Instead, he'd reach for my two hands and gets me to clap some more. However, this morning, he was sitting in his crib, and he started to clap his hands. It's so sweet how he does it...he seems to stare at his hands while clapping, seeming so fascinated that he's able to do it himself. He'd sit there clapping, stops, looks at his hands, and then claps some more. He clapped a lot the whole day.

Thomas biting and licking

Thomas has been biting a lot lately. Last week, he grabbed my arm and bit me. I yelled out, and Tony checked up on us. Thomas then turned around and bit Tony on his arm!

He likes to bite so much, and I always have to tell him to stop. I sometimes tell him to kiss me, and instead of kissing my cheeks, he'd go for my chin and bite me. Sometimes he'd lick me too! This morning, and yesterday morning, when he woke up in his crib, I had placed my face to the poles, and he'd crawled over and lick my face between the poles!

Here's some pictures of him taken today.

Thomas kisses his Daddy for the first time!

Thomas has been kissing me a lot lately, but only when he feels like it...sometimes he bites me though! He has never kissed Tony yet. Today, when Tony came home from work, he went into the bedroom and picked Thomas up from his crib, and Thomas kissed him! Tony was so excited! He rushed out of the bedroom and showed me his cheek where Thomas had kissed him...it was still wet with Thomas' saliva. This was the first time Thomas had kissed his daddy!

Our Weekend Trip

We took a trip to the Silver Saddle Ranch Resort and Club this weekend. This resort is located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, about 2-1/2 hours driving past Orange County. There was many activities there, such as gold, archery, trap and skeet, boating, cycling, horseback riding, camping, petting zoo, and many other sports. Tony, Thomas, and I had tried horseback riding. It was a first time for all of us. Thomas sat on a horse with Tony, and I had sat by myself. The man leading Tony's horse went slow for them because of Thomas. When it was my turn, however, he walked quicker, and I was going up and down on my saddle. It was kind of a scary, but fun, experience for all of us. Thomas didn't seem afraid of the horses. Here are some pictures!

3 Steps Yesterday!

Thomas took 3 steps on the bed last night. I'm so proud of him! He only practices walking on the bed though. It seems as if he knows that if he falls on the floor, it would hurt.

Blogsvertise

Hi all! I was searching for ways to make money, and I came across this site, Blogsvertise. I decided to sign up to this site. I'd just have to mention about the advertiser's products/website on my blog, and then I'd get paid per blog. The tasks are assigned to me, and I'd have the option of whether to write about them or not, and if I do, I'd just have to link to their sites at least 3 times in my blog. It sounds easy, right? I can compliment about the products or even complain about it...it's up to me! If anyone else is interested in making some extra money, click here to begin! If you're interested in advertising your products, you can get started here!

It's so simple! Start earning extra money from your blogs! That's what I'm doing...trying to earn a little something extra for Thomas!

I'll let everyone know whether this works!

Daddy's Birthday and Memorial Day Weekend

Last Saturday, May 26th, was Tony's birthday. We went out to eat and went shopping together. It was a nice, relaxing day.

On Sunday, we went to Tony's parents' place. My sister, Connie, and her family went over also. Connie's husband, Tom, played ping pong with Tony, Tim, and their 2 brother-in-laws, Huy and Khanh. They played several great games. Connie and I went shopping together with Thomas, while Connie's 2 kids, Alan and Andrew, stayed back and played computer games. Afterwards, we all ate dinner together. The evening was cut short when Tom didn't feel well and had to go home.

We didn't do much on Monday, just stayed home and cleaned the house. Tony had to work most of the afternoon.

Thomas Received His First Kiss!

Tony, Thomas, and I were shopping on Saturday night, when all the sudden, a little girl about 3 years old comes up to Thomas' stroller. She put out her two hands, and I thought she was just going to touch Thomas' cheeks, but instead, she reached over and gave him a big kiss on his mouth! Thomas had just received his first kiss from a girl!

Irvine Regional Park/BBQ/Swimming

We went to Irvine Regional Park on Saturday. It was such a nice day for a stroll around the park. We pushed Thomas around in his trailer bike. He got to see some ponies and horses in person. Later, when he was tired and fell asleep, I spread out a blanket under a big tree, and we all laid down to rest. Thomas had a good nap and was snoring. I made sure he didn't sleep with his mouth open, just in case some mosquitoes might fly in!

There was lots of people having some BBQ. The smell made me so hungry for some BBQ, so I made some steak for Tony and me the next day. It was great. Afterwards, we were on our way to go shopping when we suddenly decided to go to my sister's community pool to swim instead. Our community has a pool also, but we enjoy swimming at my sister's because they have a heated pool. Thomas had a great time swimming.